Quote:OOC: I know I started a story with Thirteen when he made his surprise return in THotF, but I've ultimately decided to scrap that story considering I told a more personal version of it already with my Aaron Blackbourne character and kind of just want to move on from that whole real life ordeal altogether now that I've gotten it out of my system. It was a bit of a struggle trying to think of what direction I wanted to go with, and I personally believe the rust with Thirteen is very strong here, but I decided to take a stab at a few new things to see where I could go if I'm able to advance onward or even if he does resurface in SCW at some point down the line. Best of luck!
If you asked James Marsh-Asher about his future, there’s a good chance he’d be unable to give you a concrete answer.
After all, considering the life he’s lived and how little control he feels he’s had over it, it’s hard to say for sure if he would’ve even HAD a future.
It’s a thought that often crosses his mind whenever he looks back on how he got to this point. At 34 years of age, he’s certainly gone through far more than most would in a lifetime, and that’s a statement that doesn’t carry complete positive overtones to it. Somehow he went from wondering if he would even get to be an adult after years of abuse from his parents to a fairly decent turnaround living in an orphanage until being separated from his sister, and from there ending up in the wrestling business with no formal training and spending almost two decades slowly evolving into one of the single most dangerous pure wrestlers anyone had ever seen. These days, he’s virtually retired from the business and found himself not only co-owning the very orphanage he spent part of his life in alongside the long lost sister who reunited with him, but he also spends his days as a therapist using his own traumatic experiences to help others staring down similar problems, leaving behind the world that added so many more scars on top of the ones left by his mother and father.
And yet, it’s hard for him to say he’ll ever truly be done with the business, primarily because James is only half of the equation.
Where James seemed to struggle to truly take off in the business despite his best efforts, the same could not be said of his other self. Most people knew him in the ring as Thirteen, and by now many were also aware that Thirteen was far more than a name to try and draw some attention. Where James was able to utilize the trauma of his past in order to help people, his second personality preferred to weaponize it in order to create his own legacy, being the dominant identity in the ring that garnered so much success over the years and went from nobody off the streets to legendary threat. No matter how he went about his business, Thirteen would somehow always find a way to linger in the memories of those who crossed his path and leave his mark on a wrestling promotion’s history books.
One would think that having done virtually everything there is to do in the sport would be enough of a reason to finally throw in the towel for good, but Thirteen always found a way back.
One such example was this year’s Taking Hold of the Flame battle royal, where Thirteen once again made an appearance as one of the mystery entrants, although he didn’t seem to have as much of an impact as he did in some previous years. Many speculated if a full-fledged return was in the works because of this, but those rumors seemed to die when he made no further appearances on the road to Rise to Greatness. A one-and-done deal for reasons that may only make sense to him. The desire to keep going, though, was still very much there. James could feel the anger and desire to return to the ring consuming him from within his mind more and more these days, and fighting to suppress it so he could continue on with his own endeavors was starting to become as much of a daily challenge as many of the people he dealt with either looking to adopt for reasons that made him want to strangle somebody or simply being confrontational about the help he was trying to offer because they stubbornly believed there was nothing wrong.
Today was one such day.
As he wrapped up his last scheduled session for the day and bid the man farewell, he had to resist the urge to turn their handshake into an impromptu submission after he went almost an hour over his scheduled time slot because he spent the first half-hour trying to either walk straight out the door or ignore the doctor sitting across from him hoping he’d just be let go if he showed no interest. He doubted the man was going to appreciate the bill for the extra time, but he was court-ordered to be here and James wasn’t going to let him waste his first session that easily. All the while he had to ignore the throbbing in his head of what felt like Thirteen desperately looking to assume control and take any excuse to choke the man out for his blatant insubordination, and even now he could still feel the self-proclaimed ‘demon’ venting his frustrations in their mind.
He could only hope that the surprise he’d somehow managed to keep from his other half would be enough to pacify him, especially since he had a pretty good idea of where this was coming from.
“I don’t mean to sound like I’m doubting you James, sir, but that almost sounded a lot like one of those old wrestling segments you used to do more than a therapy session.”
As James left his office for the day and grabbed a drink of water to try and recompose himself, he heard a voice that got his attention and turned a nervous smile towards the woman it belonged to. Now that he owned the Anderson Orphanage, he had to use some of his old connections in the New York area to secure a second office to continue his therapy work, considering his main office back in Chicago wasn’t always a feasible location anymore when he had orphanage business to attend to, considering the two-to-three-hour flight and money he’d have to put down constantly going back and forth between the two. Being the head doctor of this new building had also brought him a new staff beyond the ones who helped him get to this point in the first place, and one of his newest hires was Ivy Swain. Technically, this was an internship for her as she was still in college trying to work her way towards her own degrees, but her instructors had decided it would be very beneficial to her to get some early field experience in with someone who had made quite an impact already despite how new he still was to the profession himself. She was certainly very well aware of who he was due to her boyfriend being a wrestling fan and hoping to break into the business himself one day, but he preferred if she focused more on the therapist over the wrestler if this was to be of any benefit to her.
“Unfortunately, that’s how it goes sometimes. People don’t think they need help or have their own opinions about us ‘quacks’ and just try to make life difficult. You should see some of the people my sister and I put up with at the orphanage some days. Now THOSE are real pieces of work right there.”
“I can only imagine… you’re a real lucky guy, you know that? Wrestling, therapist and running an orphanage… sounds like so many people’s dreams come true all rolled into one life.”
James chuckled to himself as he and Ivy began to leave, considering he had no more appointments for the day and planned to meet up with his sister to work out for a bit. Even though he was in partial retirement and Kelly’s own career had waned to focus on the orphanage, they still made an effort to stay in top shape just in case. If nothing else, it gave them the peace of mind necessary to pacify their darker selves when necessary. James took note of how close Ivy was trying to be as he locked up on their way out but tried to put it out of his mind.
“I guess so. I’d hardly call my life a dream though… I’m sure your boyfriend knows my life story isn’t just something to sound more ‘badass’ whenever I’m competing.”
“Yeah, he’s been a big fan of yours for a long time. He’s actually kind of jealous because I told him your office was where I’d be interning at. He’s kind of hoping he gets a chance to meet you and maybe learn from you one of these days, just like me.”
As much as James wouldn’t mind that, there was a part of him that questioned how willing Thirteen would be for such an engagement. Despite several of their past conversations trying to steer him in the direction of a protégé, the dark personality didn’t seem too keen on coughing up his secrets that easily. The fact that he even trained his sister in any capacity was something that still kind of surprised him, in hindsight, primarily for that reason.
“Well, you never know what the future holds Ivy. Now, tomorrow I’ll be over at the orphanage handling a few appointments while my sister’s doing interviews on some prospective new hires to shore up our staff a bit, but I believe my old mentor Dr. Sharpe will be in town for a few appointments so I’m entrusting you into his care for the day.”
“I’m looking forward to what I can learn from the man who helped you become a therapist yourself. Have a good night James!”
As James locked the front door and the two bid farewell, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow when she wasn’t looking, partly because she didn’t sound as enthusiastic as he thought she might about learning from the man who taught him on his road to earning his degrees as well as being a huge help in getting his life back in order during a time when Thirteen was seemingly unbound and had every intention of staying that way and partly because it was pretty damn hard to ignore her fingers brushing against his arm as she left. He wasn’t blind to the situation at hand, but he also wanted nothing to do with it. Thankfully, he didn’t have to go far to find where Kelly was parked and hopped in before she began driving towards the gym with an amused grin on her face.
“Seems like my big brother might’ve finally found someone.”
“Don’t get your hopes up, Kelly. One, she’s a little over a decade younger than I am, which might not sit well with people in and of itself. Two, she’s technically a co-worker and we all know how well that goes over in this day and age. And three, she already has a boyfriend, who happens to see me as an inspiration for trying to break into the business himself.”
“Yikes, talk about a nasty trifecta. You ever think of maybe talking with the guy, if for no other reason than to make him aware that he might have an unfaithful woman in his life?”
“Kind of, but you never know how someone might take that news. Plus, I doubt Thirteen will let me anywhere near him if it means actually risking the release of some of his wrestling secrets. You know how he seems to be about his ‘legacy’ and all that… kind of surprised I was able to keep him from taking over and straight-up choking this guy in my last appointment out for the way he was acting.”
“You’ve said you’ve felt a little more aggression than usual from him ever since that appearance in Taking Hold of the Flame. I know it wasn’t a performance he could write home about, but it’s always hard to guarantee one of those in that kind of match.”
James let out a sigh as he gazed out the window, his eyes taking careful note of how his reflection seemed even more agitated than the man really was. The reflection of how Thirteen felt sitting there with him inside his head clearly couldn’t wait to blow off some steam with a workout, and it had the therapist concerned. He looked back at what Thirteen had to say leading up to the battle royal, and despite mostly sticking to who he’d been since they made their little arrangement regarding who’s in control and when, he could see some frustrations starting to boil over in the way he addressed everyone. Things over Rise to Greatness weekend hadn’t made it much better, and it was painfully clear what was bothering him:
He felt SCW was trying to bury how influential he’d been to where the company was today.
It was hard to blame him for feeling that way. Many historians could easily look back on the past decade of the company and realize the dramatic shift in the landscape following Thirteen’s heinous hit-and-run on Sasha and the months that followed where he used Mr. D’s desire to carry out justice himself to essentially ascend to the top of the mountain. Very few in the company’s history had proven they could outwit Mr. D in the end, and Thirteen had exposed the one glaring weakness that made the act far more commonplace afterward. The past seven years of SCW and so many individual careers were ultimately built on the foundation he’d left behind in the aftermath, but it was clear they were trying everything in their power to forget all about it and leave one of the greatest mental masterpieces of his career in the dust. The fact that several individuals he’d proven he could overcome both inside the ring and in a battle of wits time and time again were inducted into the Hall of Fame this year further enraged the dark entity, especially since several names currently among that company were proof positive that sometimes it wasn’t the number of accolades but the impact you left behind that immortalized you.
Thirteen was of the belief that few had truly left as much of a lasting impact on SCW’s history as he had in the grand scheme of things.
“Kelly, do you feel like Thirteen’s worthy of the status of wrestling legend? And please don’t say ‘yes’ just because you’re my sister, be honest with me.”
Kelly glanced at her brother in confusion after she parked the car once they reached the gym, pondering why her brother would even consider asking such a question.
“Of course James. It might be harder to justify in certain companies based on accomplishments alone, but that’s why he’s always strived to leave a lasting impression wherever he goes. He held virtually every title in UPW, he certainly made sure Amy Chastaine would never forget him once HVW closed down, he’s the reason you own one of UCW’s actual title belts because of the reign he had with it, and I really don’t think anyone who has nothing to do with SCW would deny what his efforts have done in building it into what it is today. Where is this coming from all of a sudden?”
“It’s just… I think a lot of his issues stem from the fact that he feels SCW’s trying to bury his legacy, and considering Sasha’s back in charge now it wouldn’t surprise me. It’s easy to try and deny him based on accomplishments alone, but he’s accomplished more than some of the guys regarded as legends of the company, and it’s also one thing for others to scoff at the idea because of course, they can’t look past egos and self-images if they admit to it, but the fact that his efforts have seemingly been all but forgotten about is driving him up a wall.”
James steps out of the car, leaving Kelly to ponder this as she joins her brother in making their way into the gym, and after changing into their workout attires they set about their respective routines. Kelly keeps close enough to her brother to keep an eye on him out of concern, especially when the first thing he does is take a training dummy into the makeshift wrestling/boxing ring this gym has and goes to work chaining through different holds with the meticulous aggression that only belongs to his darker self. There’s no real rhyme or reason behind the actions, just a man making sure he still has the kinks worked out of his craft while blowing off some steam in the process. That fact is made abundantly clear when he props the dummy up into the corner before making a lap around the ring and throwing himself into it with a violent spear that almost actually splits the thing in half, Thirteen glaring down at it with little remorse as he leaves it be to grab a drink of water. Kelly tries to keep her focus on the weight she’s leg pressing right now, knowing that Thirteen was no doubt watching her due to her concern for her brother who had given up control for the time being.
“Hey Kelly, would you mind telling me what THIS is all about?”
Kelly hesitantly turns to face Thirteen after she finishes her rep, and finds him holding on to some papers he pulled out of James’ bag. A closer look has her eyes widen when she realizes he’s found the entry paperwork for the upcoming God of Wrestling tournament SCW is presenting as a semi-independent thing beyond their own shows on the horizon. She’s been aware of the paperwork’s existence for a few weeks now, but she seems legitimately surprised that Thirteen is questioning it.
“Do… do you really not know about this?”
“Not a damn thing. James has kind of locked me out of fishing around in certain parts of our subconscious lately, probably thinking I’m going to lash out about some of the stuff he doesn’t want to confront me about, like this potential affair he’s trying to stay out of with that young intern he hired recently.”
Kelly can’t help but shake her head at the way Thirteen addressed that subject, already missing her brother’s more delicate approach to certain issues.
“He did intend for it to be a surprise, but I’d have thought he would’ve opened that door by now. Since you’ve been so on edge lately about what I’m sure you know he and I were talking about on the way here, with you believing SCW’s trying to erase what you’ve done and all, he found out about this tournament that’s being held and decide to grab a spot for you to try and help you get over this. The finals are apparently taking place at SCW’s Under Attack pay-per-view at the end of October, and he figured having an official title of ‘God of Wrestling’ would help since it’s technically something you haven’t done yet…”
Thirteen could tell Kelly was hesitant about bringing the matter to light with him, despite the better terms he’s gotten on with her since seemingly finding a balance within himself. It was hard to blame her, though… James had hit the nail on the head with his frustrations over the way he believed SCW was trying to bolster Sasha being at the helm now by seemingly sweeping her last stint in charge under the rug, especially considering with Mr. D’s return to power to deal with the situation it led to the first cracks forming in what he honestly believed was what ultimately wore the man down to the point where he started to throw in the towel at long last near the end of last year. Considering so many people were still resorting to the tactics and methodology he pioneered in getting his way back then, including the supposed SCW veterans compared to even him like Xander Valentine, it all left a very bad taste in his mouth and had him hungry for one last stab at finalizing his dark legacy, preferably on his terms this time.
“You have no reason to be afraid… I’m not holding you accountable for any of this, and I can’t fault James for at least trying to find some way to tide me over. Still… I’ll go through with this, but just in case he’s trying to keep to himself while I’m in control, I want you to remind him that he and I need to have a discussion about all of this when he’s done trying to preoccupy his mind with everything else on his plate. If nothing else… maybe I can have something to give me the respect that’s been taken from me and have an opening to remind SCW of who I am.”
Needless to say, Kelly is understandably concerned by the way Thirteen makes this sound but leaves him be to return to his workout with a renewed purpose and a brand new focus for all his frustrations. Deep down, she really hopes her brother knew what he was doing by trying to help his ‘inner demon’ by entering him into this tournament because at this point either Thirteen gained the peace of mind he was truly seeking… or James had opened the floodgates on something he would’ve been better off leaving to rest if at all possible.
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“My name is Thirteen, and I have no reason to doubt that most of you probably don’t care.
There’s no need to sugarcoat anything when it comes to me. I’ve been doing this for a very long time and I’m familiar with just about every kind of person I could possibly meet, from the self-entitled assholes who know nothing beyond the worlds in their own little heads to those whose vision is clouded by anger and vengeance to even the ones who claim to be your conquering heroes who will do the right thing and always respect even those they honestly know absolutely nothing about. I’ve worn all those proverbial hats and many more over the years myself, and I’ve crossed paths with everyone and everything you could ever hope to find in a wrestling ring, for one reason or another.
Considering I’m only half of the true individual addressing you all and my other half currently operates as a therapist, I know more about whatever you all might try to pull better than even you probably do.
I bet those that have any sort of association with SCW, be it past or present, might be curious as to why my name is among the brackets for this tournament. I can’t say I blame them, considering as far as I’m concerned I already am a God of Wrestling in all but any sort of official title, a claim that many others like me could also easily make considering the years I’ve put into going from literally nothing to being widely considered one of the most dangerous grapplers you will ever find standing across the ring from you. Of course, most of the current SCW roster don’t really care for me, whether it’s people like Syren who no doubt never want to share a ring with me again for as long as they live for reasons that only make sense to them and them alone or many who are too blinded by the ‘good’ they think they’re doing with all these claims of what they deserve and the lengths they will go to in order to make their case.
Lengths that, I should point out, most of you are stealing straight from my playbook.
SCW probably doesn’t want you to hear this, especially considering who’s in charge these days, but once upon a time I committed a little act of vehicular hit-and-run that put an end to the days of Sasha D. ruling over SCW. For roughly the next year, her father reassumed control and did everything he could to make me pay, refusing to simply let me rot in a prison cell for the crimes I committed in favor of enticing his roster with a bonus to whoever was able to put me out of commission. In the process, he basically ended up feeding several former World Champions to me and set the stage not only for his own fall from grace when the Board took control, but my rise to World Champion status and eternal infamy within the company.
Of course… to those with any knowledge of SCW, I can forgive you if this seems like a fuzzy memory at best to many of you. After all, they’ve tried their hardest to practically tape over my finest hour with reruns of virtually anybody else who was willing to pick a fight with the powers that be without going as far as I did, or allowing it to get that far so long as the ‘villain’ in these stories was made to pay at the very end.
In that respect, I hold a rare distinction that virtually none of you do, and it’s no surprise that SCW is denying me what I deserve hoping it’ll just become nothing more than a faded nightmare.
As far as I’m concerned, this tournament is simply a stage for me to remind the world of the demon that once had all of SCW in an uproar long before men like Xander Valentine, someone who laughably even precedes me in the annals of SCW lore, were painting targets on their backs with horrific acts that pale in comparison to what I’ve done simply to leave my mark for all eternally. It’s a warning to those who do remember but believe time has simply taken its toll that I have been a very different entity in the times I’ve been back competing under those initials.
And perhaps… it could even be a sign of things to come if this trend of spitting in my face and trying to forget all that I’ve done continues.
Now, to a man like Alban McConnell, some of these things I’ve listed might ignite a feeling of hatred within him, and I can’t say I would be surprised. As we are set to cross paths to open this tournament, we are here for very different reasons that have nothing to do with one another. Alban has never set foot in SCW or any other company where I have been, so he likely cares very little for why I am here. It’s actually a shame, considering my history gives him so much to learn from in regards to his entire purpose for throwing his name into this gauntlet. It is to my understanding that he has a longstanding connection with Kelcey Wallace, a woman that has been a rather hot topic in regards to SCW these days for all the wrong reasons. Considering the actions of those close to her or claim that they care for her, I can certainly understand why he’d be upset. After all, if no one will do anything, then why not take the law into your own hands and set things right yourself?
If Mr. D’s attempts to do that with me are any indication, this may not be the wisest course of action.
Of course, who am I to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do, right Alban? I have no real issue with you or any part in the crusade you’re on, and therein lies the problem here. The only quarrel I’ve ever had with Kelcey was occasionally crossing paths with her and perhaps trying to point out the fallacy of her beliefs that she was ‘perfect.’ In the grand scheme of things I’ve had no part to play in her career or what’s happened to her, and even if I made some surprising return to SCW tomorrow beyond this tournament I would be more concerned with my own issues. That seems like a pretty good reason to oppose your entire reason for entering this thing as opposed to simply barging into SCW proper and unleashing your wrath.
Your dreams of revenge are going to have to end by the hand of someone they have nothing to do with.
That’s simply the risk you take when you blindly throw yourself into something like this with such a single-minded purpose, but no matter how much you wish to argue otherwise I’ll be damned if I let my statement be derailed by a man so blinded by his own hatred that, just like Mr. D before him, he’s willing to play games with someone who can see far beyond your limited perception when it matters most. I am not someone who will stand in the way of what you wish to attempt, but until you take that fight to the people you really have an issue with you’re simply going to have to learn that some battles are not worth fighting, especially when such tunnel-visioned intent causes you to get sidetracked with other matters that only distract you at the end of the day.
My purpose is clear: I am here to solidify my claim to a mantle I have always possessed in everything but any ‘official’ name, and I will reopen every old wound SCW has tried to stitch shut if I have to, all in the name of making Sasha and everyone believing they deserve to be honored before the very man who gave them all the chance to be where they are today in the first place realize that no matter how hard you try to repress some bad memories… they never truly go away.
Especially when they define who you are… just as all of mine have defined who I am and always will be.”